


Walking Into Technicolor

by EvilQueen79



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, High School AU, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7323832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilQueen79/pseuds/EvilQueen79
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rules of being a teenage girl are pretty black and white: be boy crazy, fight for your man, don’t fall for the girl.</p><p>Emma Swan is doing her best to do exactly what she believes is expected of her.  She has a perfectly decent boyfriend, does well in school, and volunteers at a charity haunted house.  When she meets a strange girl there she definitely doesn’t expect her to alter her world so dramatically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Simple Kind of Life

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been wanting to get told for quite sometime. It does start with CS, but Swan Queen is always endgame.  
> A story of love and self-discovery.

Friday October 3rd

“So, how’d it go?”

Emma washed the last of the blue and gold Storybrooke Knights war paint off of her face and pulled her long blonde curls up into a messy ponytail.

Leaning against the bathroom door frame her boyfriend Killian half shrugged, “It was fine, Swan, really.” He paused to admire her slender body, “But there are other things I’d rather,” he paused for effect, a wolfish grin spread across his face, “ _discuss_ since your parents aren’t home-“

“Down, boy.  You aren’t staying.  I just wanted you to stop by so I could hear how it went at the house tonight,” Emma said, brushing off his blatant attempt to get in her pants.  Again.

“Always about the house with you, Swan,” he deflated and turned away.

The “Lend a Hand” haunted house has been running since before Emma could remember.  The charity was founded to raise money to assist foster kids to participate in extracurricular activities they normally wouldn’t be able to afford. As a foster kid herself, Emma Swan had been “lent a helping hand” a few times for soccer, softball and one misguided attempt at playing the flute.  

When she was a kid, she would walk by, frozen in fear at the blood curdling screams coming from within the walls.  As she grew up, she found herself drawn to the house, but even after braving it a few times, decided she wanted to be on the other side of the make-up. Once she was old enough to volunteer, she was quick to sign up to work in the haunted house.  Halloween was easily her favorite time of year and she wanted to do her part with the charity to pay it forward.  Her last three Octobers were dedicated to cleaning, building, painting, decorating, and eventually scaring the crap out of people in that house.  Well, trailers.  The “house” was actually five semi-trailers connected to form a maze, and the inside was a dark labyrinth with various horror scenes depicted throughout.

Her first year, she just showed up, had her face painted like a zombie and was told where to stand and jump out at people.  Weekend after weekend she came back to scare the pants off the locals.  Maybe it was the drama geek coming out in her, but dressing up and making people jump, scream, and cry was addictive.  She was hooked.  Soon she made her best friend Ruby join her. They, along with a handful of other area misfits, quickly became the backbone of the cast in the house.

Leroy Rafter, also known as Grumpy, was actually in charge of running the entire house.  He and his brothers did the heavy lifting of the set building, and were the security at the house when it was open.  They were considered the “responsible adults” in charge.  If the sheer number of empty beer cans were any indication, the term “responsible” was questionable at best.  Throughout the years Emma put in extra time over the summer to help design and build new scenes with the Rafter brothers.  Her hard work and dedication didn’t go unnoticed and Grumpy decided this year she would be in charge of the cast.

_“What do you mean you have to miss opening night?”_

_“Grumps, I’m sorry.  I’m a senior, it’s the big Homecoming football game.  I just kind of feel like I should go.”_

_“Kid, I put you in charge so I don’t have to deal with the delinquents.”_

_“Good to know that’s what you really think of us.  Trust me, it will be fine.  Ruby can take over for me that night.  She can handle it.  You won’t even know I’m not there.”_

_“With your big mouth?  Doubtful.”_

Duties as HBIC include, but are not limited to:

\- placing volunteers in scenes throughout the house

\- costume and makeup decisions

\- dealing with minor cast issues

\- keeping the general fuckery in the house to a minimum.

Ruby is her right hand girl and helps her a ton, especially with makeup.  Hollywood special effects artists have nothing on her. That girl can dust a mug to look like a corpse, zombie, vampire, ghost or ghoul.  You name it, she can paint it. Killian helps out, too, although, Emma’s 99% sure he is just there to try and make out in the dark, but hey, help is help…

Killian sighed, knowing this wasn’t going where he’d like, “It was opening night.  You really should have been there.”

“I know.  I know.  Shit, Killian, you don’t think I feel bad enough as it is?  But, it’s my senior year.   The homecoming game is just one of those things I’m supposed to do.”

“I never did…” he shrugged.

“Yeah, well, I was trying.. nevermind,” she let out an exasperated sigh. “Trust me.  It wasn’t worth it.  I just kept thinking about the house and wishing I was there all night.  So come on, just fill me in already.” She brushed past him and plopped down on the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her.

“It went fine,” he joined her on the couch, crowding her just a bit.  “Everyone followed the instructions from your meeting last week to a T.  Ruby assigned the returning vets to the better scenes, newbies went to the crap scenes, and anyone that showed any promise got paired up with a vet for the later part of the night.  So relax already.”  He scooted even closer and put his arm around her.  “And you will be there the rest of the year to make sure the podunk, volunteer haunted house, in small town Maine goes off without a hitch.”

“You’re not funny,” she shrugged his arm off of her, crossing her arms defensively.  Maybe it was stupid that she took the house so seriously.  It _was_ just a small, volunteer run haunted house, but it was the only thing she really felt a part of.  Grumpy, his brothers, Ruby, and the rest of the friends she’s made over the years there, felt like family to her.  Other than Mary and David, her foster parents for the last 5 years, it was the closest thing she had to family.  And try as they might, Mary and David just didn’t get her.  Not like her house family did.

Dejected, he leaned his head against the back of the couch.  He was used to Emma rejecting his advances, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.  They had been dating for months now and he hadn’t gotten past second base with her.  Maybe she just needed some convincing that he was a prized catch.

“You know, there was this one new girl there…  Regina, I think her name was.  Petite, dark hair.  Cute...  She would not leave me alone.”

Emma turned back towards him and raised an eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

He feigned nonchalance and shrugged. “She was just chatting me up before it started, hung out with me on break and was kind of lingering around after the house closed.  I explained I was with someone and that she’d meet you tomorrow, but she didn’t seem phased.”

“Well, who is she?” Emma knew she sounded jealous, but she had every right to be, didn’t she?   In girl world there were rules.  Guys that were taken were off limits.  And it was her job as the girlfriend to defend what was hers.   “I mean, how did she hear about the house?”

“Oh she came with Robin.”

Emma rolled her eyes.  Robin started coming around the year after she did and was a total pain in her ass.  He meant well, he really did, but he just tried way too hard.  They were friends, sort of, but he acted like they had a really close friendship when in reality, she could barely tolerate him.

“Yeah, well, maybe she was playing wingman.  I’m pretty sure Robin is into you,” she teased elbowing him in the ribs, but it came out flat as she tried to convince herself.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.  I’ve known Robin for years, so chances are that he is just now sending beautiful girls to try and pick me up for him,” he snarked right back.

The words stung more than she wanted them to. _Why did he have to act so smug?  So a pretty girl thought he was hot._ He was.  She knew she was lucky.  Tall, dark and handsome, Killian was classically good looking.  But he also wore a black leather trenchcoat and a bit of guyliner, so he had that air of bad boy mystery.   Exactly the kind of guy her friends thought she should be into.

Maybe this was his way of telling her to put out or get out.  He clearly wouldn’t have a problem finding someone else _._  Maybe someone that was less of a prude.  It’s not that she was a prude exactly.  She could talk and joke about sex, but couldn’t seem to make the walk match the talk.  There had only been one guy she had actually slept with.  

Sex with Neal hadn’t been bad, per se, but she didn’t see what the big deal was.  It was awkward and uncomfortable.  Mostly, she remembers wishing she was anywhere but there at the time.  He was a good guy, but still a horny teenager. After she started making excuses to avoid alone time with him, he got the hint and moved on.  

Truthfully, Killian probably wasn’t too far behind.  She knew if she wanted to keep him around she had to try harder. And that’s what girls her age do, right?  Regardless, there was no way was some newbie at the house going to steal her man right out from under her.

“Or maybe she’s after something she can’t have,” she crawled onto his lap and kissed him.  It’s not like she had to sleep with him right this minute, right?  Maybe just a decent make out session would be enough to hold him over for a while.

* * *

 

Saturday, October 4th

“Thirty minutes until doors open.  Everyone should be here by now.”  Emma paced in the clearing behind the haunted house where they got ready and congregated on breaks.

“Ems, relax.  You know people are hit and miss with volunteering.  We have enough people to open,” Ruby reassured her as she put the finishing touches on one of the newbies.  “There,” she held up a mirror for Graham to see. “You are now a terrifying clown.”

“Holy shit, Ruby, this makeup is insane!  I’m sort of scaring myself.”

Emma looked over proudly at her best friend, “Since Graham will obviously be in the jack-in-the-box tonight, maybe you should take the car scene so you will be close.  That way you can give him a hand if he needs it,” she winked at Ruby.

“You know, that’s not a bad plan, Em.  Good idea.”

It was a terrible idea and they both knew it.  The car scene was just the front end of a car rigged up on the wall that stayed shadowed in darkness until whoever was working in it hit the lights and horn.  The hallway cut right in front of the car, so if it was timed just right, it was a great effect.  It wasn’t unheard of for people to piss themselves in front of the car.

It was a bullshit scene to work though.  It was boring and unimaginative.  Inexperienced newbies, late comers, or people that pissed off the cast leader were often stuck there, begging for a trade.

Ruby was already in full vampire make-up and loved the acting aspect of the house.  She was an experienced veteran who relished at the chance to interact with guests. The first scene, the vampire’s lair, was her favorite.  She worked magic there; setting the tone for the house and making people continue on with a feeling of unease.

But it was evident to Emma that something was starting between Ruby and Graham and who was she to stand in the way of young love?  Or maybe it was just crush and they could use the darkness to their advantage to explore the possibility.  Or at least each other’s bodies.  As long as they didn’t get caught.

The rest of the cast started to circle up.

“Ok, guys, sorry I missed last night, but I heard we had a good night.  Let’s keep the energy up! For those that don’t know me, my name is Emma. I help Grumpy and the boys with you lot so they don’t have to deal with us.  If you have a problem or need a break, I’m the one to talk to.  If someone gets too aggressive you can call me or any member of security.” She lightly started jogging in place, the others mimicked her.  “It’s early in the season, but word of mouth travels quickly,” her arms stretched up over her head, again everyone mirrored.  “So let’s get in there and scare the crap out of these people.  They pay good money to walk through our house and have a terrifying experience.  Let’s show them what we’ve got!!”  She cracked her neck.  Other people in the group started chiming in.

“Hell yeah,” Killian piped up.

“Let’s do this,” Belle, a 3 year vet, called out.

“Make ‘em cry,” Ruby howled.

“FIRE IT UP!!!!” Arthur, yet another vet yelled.

“Fire it up!  Fire it up!” The whole group was chanting.  The air was electric.

Emma scanned the group.  She had pretty much met everyone there, but a girl walked up alone during the huddle.  The late comer was short with dark hair, and was pretty.  Very pretty.  Bingo.

“Alright, alright.  I think most of you have your assignments.  A couple changes - Killian, you are taking first scene tonight.”  He smugly grinned at Ruby, thinking he won the coveted first scene from her, completely ignorant of Emma’s plan to try and hook her up with the newbie, Graham.  And keep him away from a certain brunette.

“New girl, uh, sorry, I’ll catch your name later,” she pointed at the brunette, who was obviously Regina, “you can go to the morgue scene with Arthur.  It’s in the back, he can show you.”  Arthur did not look upset to be working with the hot new girl.

“Normally, I kind of roam the house to help out as needed, but we are a little shorthanded tonight, so I will be in the cage.  For those that are unfamiliar, it’s right in the middle of the house, next to the emergency exit, if you need me.”  The cage was a four foot by four foot jail cell built out of the wall, so there was a natural, narrow hallway around it.  A soft blue light hung at the top, casting an eerie glow into the space.  

There, Emma could flex her theater muscles a bit, playing a deranged inmate.  She would reach through the bars, screaming, getting oh so close (but not too close) to grabbing (but not touching) a (hopefully) terrified guest.  Sometimes, she even escaped through the trap door and chased her poor victims a bit.  It was a decent scene to work, but it kept her immobile, which she hated.  But Grumpy hated people roaming.  If he needed to get around the dark hallways, he didn’t want to be bumping into kids trying to bullshit and flirt with each other between customers.  Luckily for Emma, being in charge of the cast gave her immunity to that particular rule.  Emma usually wore a security headset and hung out around the emergency exit.  It was a good corner to lurk and scare, but also made it easy to get to another part of the house quickly if she was needed.

“You guys ready?” she smirked at the zombies, vampires, clowns, and ghouls around her.

“FIRE IT UP!!”

They continued hooting and hollering as they entered through the exit door, filtering through the house and taking their places.  Emma entered last and walked the dark halls by memory, making sure everyone was in place.  When she got to the front door, she cracked it open a bit to let Grumpy know that they were ready to go.  

“Give me a minute to head back to the cage and we are good, Grumps.”

“Hey, Swan,” he called out, holding the door open, letting some light in.  She spun back to face him, a sliver of light brightening her face, “Now that you are actually here tonight, are you going to officially open the house?  One thing was missing last night.  Made it feel like a dress rehearsal.”

An impish grin proudly spread across her face.

“Sure thing Grumpy.”

“Hell yeah, kid.  Let’s do this!”  The swung the door shut, cloaking her in pitch black darkness.

Stomping through the house like it was her runway, she got similar words from vets she passed.

“Do it, Swan.”

“Fire it up!”

“C’mon, Swan…”

The dark halls twisted and turned until she ended up back in front of the cage.  She banged her heavy mag flashlight against the metal outer wall three times and the house went silent.  Taking a full, deep breath, Emma threw her head back and let out an ear-piercing, blood curdling, horror movie scream.

A buzzing clicked in her ear through the radio before Grumpy’s voice rang in, “The house is officially open, guys.  Sending the first victims your way.”


	2. Black No.1

Saturday, October 4 th \- Continued

Emma crouched close to the dingy floor, leaning back onto the cold trailer wall behind her.  The sun had set and the temperature was rapidly dropping inside the house.  The thin metal walls didn’t hold heat for shit. She rubbed her hands together and scrunched her nose at the cold and general funk of the house. The smell of saw dust, grime and oily metal permeated the air.  It was musty, but familiar.  It was home.  More so than the so-called perfect home of her foster parents that never smelled of anything other than lilacs or fresh baked cookies.  Mary Margaret and David tried so hard to give her everything they thought she wanted.  If only they would stop to ask what she  _ actually _ wanted.

It was only about a half an hour into the night and there was already a lull in guests coming through.   _ Hopefully it picks up a little bit _ , she thought.   _ Oh well, It’s still early _ .  Hearing footsteps coming her way, she crouched down into position.   _ Wait.  There’s only one set of footsteps.  Not a paying customer _ .

The footsteps stopped in front of the cage and she heard a “Hello?” just as she popped back up.  An unfamiliar figure screamed and hit the wall behind her.

“Oh shit…I’m so sorry.  Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.  What did I expect?  It’s a haunted house, right?” she laughed, rubbing her fishnet clad elbow. “Are you Emma?”

Emma’s eyes were used to the dim bulb inside the cage and the stranger stood just outside of the light’s reach.  Not being able to make out more than a silhouette, her other senses perked up.  The scent of burning leaves and clove cigarettes cut through the dank odor the of house, floated in the air around her, and made her feel warm. It was slightly dizzying.  Or maybe that was her voice.  The melodious deep rough velvet resonated through Emma’s body.  Her brain needed a minute to relish in it before catching back up.

“Oh, uh, yeah… I am.  I’m Emma.”

“Great, I was told I could find you here.  My friend and I came late and I was told to head this way to see you.  The guy at the front said you’d probably want to break free of the cage, so I’m here to bust you out.”

“Outstanding, thank you.”  Emma crawled out through the trap door and helped the new girl climb in.  She watched and waited as she stepped into the light. The soft blue light shone down onto jet black hair and made her skin glow eerily blue.  Dark piercing eyes gazed at her through thick gothic make-up.  Bright red lips smiled at her through the cage bars.

“So I hear you’re in charge around here.” The new girl leaned against the far wall of the cage, slipping her face back into the shadows.

“Well, yeah, sort of, I guess.  I just make sure the cast doesn’t get too out of control so Grumpy doesn’t have to deal with us.”

“Oh that’s the guy out front?  Seems like he tries to be a bit of a hard ass, but nice enough.”

“Yeah, he is.  Little rough around the edges, but he’s kind of like family to me.”

“So you’ve been coming here for a while?”

Emma laughed. “That sounds like a terrible pick up line,” From the shadows she could only see a bright white smile shining back at her.

“And what if it is?”

The blonde’s cheeks flushed.  Her insides went fuzzy and warm again, despite the dropping temperature.  

“Then I would say you need to work on your game.  It’s weak.”

The teasing banter seemed easy with her.  Natural.  Someone so intriguing would normally intimidate Emma, throw her off her game, but this girl seemed to bring it out in her.

New girl chuckled, “You’re right that was weak.  I just meant because you’re obviously experienced enough with the house that he put you in charge.  I was just curious how long you’ve been around.”

“This is my fourth year with the house.”

“Dedicated.  I like it.  What’s the draw?  Aside from the stellar working conditions.” She blew into her hands and rubbed them up and down her arms.  “It’s fucking freezing in here.”

Emma leaned against the cage, arms snaking into the bars.  “You get used to the cold.”   _ Or find someone to warm you up _ .  “And I dunno, I guess I’m kind of a theater geek and Halloween freak.  And uh,” she probably doesn’t need to fill her in on the foster kid thing just yet. “It’s a fun group of people.  Plus, I guess I sort of like being in charge.”   _ Shit, Emma, stop.  _

“I see.  So you being in charge of this group of miscreants. Do you rule with an iron fist?  Actually you seem more like the keeper of the peace?  Sort of like a small town sheriff,” she drawled.

“Ha, well, I’ve never heard it put that way before, but sure, why not.  At your service, ma’am.”

“My hero,” she teased.

“I suppose this is the part where you tell me you have a problem with authority.”

“On the contrary, sometimes I don’t mind being told what to do.”

Emma gulped and took a step back, leaning against the wall opposite the cell.  “So, what’s your story?  What brought you to our humble town of- what did you call us? Oh, right, miscreants?” She added a sarcastic smirk on the final word, throwing it back at the dark haired girl

“One of your merry men drug me along for the ride.  He thought the gig fit my personality, seeing as how I sort of have a reputation of being the Evil Queen at school.”  

There’s no way she went to Storybrooke.  Emma would know her if she did.  She must be at the private school, Enchanted High, across town.

“I see.  Queen Bee?  Ruler of the school?  You make the peasants quake with fear?”

“Actually, I’m the artsy outcast, but I prefer the term morbidly eccentric.  I just got the nickname because I won’t take their shit and have been known to have a bit of an attitude.  Oh and there was that rumor that I tried to poison the prom queen with an apple last year.”

“Just a rumor?”

“They haven’t been able to prove anything,” Emma could barely make out a mischievous smile spread across her face.  “I find mostly they have a fear of the strange and unusual.”

“I myself and strange and unusual.”

“Ah, a fellow Beetlejuice fan?”

“Burton fan in general.  You don’t work in a haunted house for this long without being slightly….morbidly eccentric.”

“Favorite Burton film?”

“Toss up between Beetlejuice and Batman Returns.  You?”

“Solid choices, but I have to go with Edward Scissor Hands.”

“Aw, Wino forever.”

They chatted easily for a while, while the house stayed eerily quiet.  The entire time they talked, mostly about cult movies and terrible music, Emma was painfully aware that she was physically transfixed by this girl.

“Your 80s pop culture knowledge is astounding,” the brunette mused.

“Impressed?”

New girl leaned against the bars and broke into a wide grin, opening her mouth to say something, when the front door of the house banged loudly.

“Incoming,” Emma said.  She put her hand to her ear, so she could hear Grumpy clearly through her earpiece.

“Two couples, royals, easy points,” he squawked through the static.

“Two high school couples, popular kids or jocks, and the guys are easy targets.  They’re probably trying to act tough for their girlfriends, but Grumpy can tell when it’s a front.”

“And he just told you all that?”

“Well, yeah, basically.  Just really go for it, ok?  Don’t hold back and throw your best stuff at the guys.  Let’s see what you’ve got, your majesty.”

The brunette nodded, looked around the cage, then proceeded to climb up onto the narrow strip of wood at the top of the bars.  Emma watched in awe as she climbed, cat-like and disappeared from view.  She quickly took her own place, slinking into the shadows.  The group came around the corner, cowering away from the cage, expecting the worst.  When nothing happened, they assumed it was empty and the lead doofus got his face right up next to the bars.  “Ladies, chill,” he got cockier thinking they were safe and visibly relaxed.  Poor fool.  “It’s empty.”  He poked his head just barely between the bars, trying to show what a hard ass he was.  Suddenly, a figure flew down from the top of the bars, landing right in front of his face.  His shrieks echoed throughout the entire house.  He and his buddy stumbled backwards into the wall, flailing, climbing over each other, trying to run away.  The girls jumped back, nearly slamming into Emma in her hiding place and quickly escaped the area.  Emma was so in awe of the tactic, she never even tried to scare them.  She caught up to the group and followed a few steps behind to just past the next scene, just to make sure they could handle getting through ok.

When she got back to her spot in front of the cage, she let out a low whistle.  “Clean up, in aisle 2.  I think ol’ boy pissed himself. That was impressive.”

New girl raised her arms above her head, grasping the bars, barely poking her face out between them. “If I’ve managed to impress you, I must be doing something right.”

Emma couldn’t see much in the dark, but she could read body language. A hip, clad in too tight black jeans, was popped out to one side, hands grasping the bars, high above her head, she leaned in towards Emma.    _ Shit _ .  A light hum seemed to be radiating through her body straight to her core.  What was this girl doing to her?

Without her permission, Emma’s feet took the two steps to the front of the cage, opposite the striking goth girl.  Emma’s arms made their way through the bars, on either side of the brunette.

“Oh?  Were you aiming to impress me?”  Emma’s voice was barely a whisper, their faces only inches apart.

In the dim light, Emma could see the upturned crescent of glowing white teeth, when her eyes dipped down to the girl’s mouth.

The smile slowly fell from the girl’s face and her breath quickened, eyes flicking down to the blonde’s lips.  Emma’s own breath, was loud, pounding in her ears.   _ When did it get so hot in the house all of a sudden? _  Inhaling the intoxicating autumn scents that radiated off the mysterious beauty in front of her, Emma leaned forward, giving in to the magic of the darkness.

“Break time!” Someone yelled from the front of the house, as it was simultaneously radioed into Emma’s ear.

The moment was quickly lost and Emma shook her head.  The dark-haired girl hesitantly stepped away, offering a coy smile and nodded towards the trap door, “Would you mind helping me out of here?” Emma went to the side of the cage and swung the trap door open.

A hoard of booming footsteps were headed their way, trampling through the house as the rest of the cast made their way to the emergency exit for their nightly break. Robin’s voice cut through the thundering.  “REEGGGGIIIIIIINAAAAA?!?!  Girl, where arrrrrrrrrrre, yoooooooou???”

_ Oh, so the little shit did decide to show up tonight.  Must have just snuck into the first scene when he got here.  I bet he was pleasantly surprised when he saw it was Killian instead of Ruby up there.  Killian must not have filled him in that the little home wrecker he brought into the house was in the very last scene.  Ha!  Serves her right for flirting with my man. _

Emma’s mind was quickly returned to her current situation when the new girl slinked her way through the trap door.  Once she had her footing and stood up, they were chest to chest, looking into each other’s eyes.

Time stood still for a moment and Emma was right back under her spell.  Her skin was buzzing and her limbs were slightly tingly.  A warm flame danced through her core. 

The group from the front turned the corner, with Robin leading the way.

“There you are, dear!  I’ve been calling you….Regina?”

New girl’s head snapped to the side, breaking the spell.  “Sorry, Robin.  I didn’t hear you. Good, it’s break time.  I’m dying for a smoke.  You got a clove?”

The name registering was like a bucket of ice water being thrown over her head and the lusty fog that had settled over Emma’s brain quickly dissipated. “Wait… YOU’RE Regina?”

Regina shrugged at the blonde, not sure what her sudden icy tone was all about. “Um, yeah, didn’t we already establish that?”

Emma suddenly saw red.  All this hard work to keep this…this…bitch away from her boyfriend and here she was fraternizing with the enemy.  And Regina had the audacity to be flirty when she had been doing the exact same thing with Killian the night before!  Who the hell did she think she was?  

Guilt and shame suddenly washed over Emma as she realized that she had been flirting right back with her.  It wasn’t right. She was with Killian.  Girls like boys.  

“No, come to think of it, I don’t think you mentioned your name.”

Emma turned on her heel and walked out.

“What was all that about?” Robin asked.

“I have no idea,” Regina responded watching Emma walk away.  “I thought we were getting along quite...nicely actually.” She let out a long breath, trying to regain a little composure after the feisty blonde did a complete 180 on her.

“No way, the Evil Queen was getting along with someone?” Robin smirked knowingly.

“Shut up or I’m bringing you an apple next week.” She nudged him in the ribs playfully.

“Regina,” Killian came around the corner and stretched his neck, looking around cautiously, “is Emma around?”

“She just went outside, Killian.  Why?  Are you going to embarrass yourself by repeatedly asking her out as well?”

He just laughed and ran a hand through his slightly too long hair. “No, but I was wondering if you had time to reconsider my offer?”

“No, guyliner, I already told you, drop dead.  I’m not interested.” She grabbed Robin by the arm and stormed out of the house.

____________________________

Everyone was huddled around outside in small groups, Emma keeping close to Killian.  Occasionally she would shoot daggers at Regina, who seemed to know to keep her distance.  Regina stayed by Robin, trying to pay attention to him, but mostly watching the blonde inexplicably hover around the slimy fuckboy.  When Emma caught her eye, she quickly looked away, taking a long drag off her clove cigarette .  Emma wondered for a split second how sweet her lips would taste after smoking a clove.   _ Stop, Emma.  Not only are you with someone, but SHE wants HIM.  And anyway it’s not like she’s… And even if she were, you definitely aren’t. _  She waited until everyone had finished their cigarettes and then had them circle up again.

“I know it’s a slow night, but try to keep yourselves entertained without roaming around please.  Grumpy had a few complaints from earlier, so stick to your scenes.  I’ll be walking through more this half, so don’t let me catch you away from your post.” Ruby shot Graham a seductive smile before she looked at the ground.  Emma was quick to catch it. “And please try to remember this is a haunted house, not a love shack.” Emma dismissed her earlier intentions of helping Ruby out with Graham.  They could make a love connection on their own time.  “We don’t want to get complaints like last year,” she gave Belle a pointed look.  Belle smiled sheepishly knowing the comment was directed at her.  

Last year a customer complained when he and his kids walked into a scene and caught Belle and Tina kissing.  Apparently, they didn’t realize someone was walking through the house.  Tina was so embarrassed, she never came back.  Grumpy had been kind of pissed, but what does he expect?  They’re hormonal teenagers locked in the dark together.  Of course the guy had to make a big deal about it being two girls and the house being run by a “family establishment.”  Most of the other teens in the house didn’t give it a second thought, but Ruby confided in Emma that she just could not believe Belle was into girls.  Emma’s heart sank during the conversation because maybe if she would have had just a glimmer of the possibility of support from one of her friends...

“Yes, Sheriff,” Robin joked, pulling Emma out of the memory.

Emma just scowled at him and then shot a quick glare at Regina, “Alright everyone, back inside.”

Emma hung back to make sure she was the last one in and could relock the door.  She saw Regina shoo Robin away out of the corner of her eye and pretend to fix the laces on her Doc Marten, while the others filed in.

“Did I do something wrong, Emma?”

“No, nothing at all Regina.  My boyfriend didn’t give you the chance,” she leveled an icy glare at the girl.

“Boyfriend?” Regina’s brow knit in legitimate confusion.  Emma wasn’t sending “taken” signals, let alone “straight” ones.  

Emma stood up straight, crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side a bit, “Yeah, Killian.  You know the one you threw yourself all over last night?”

The confusion on Regina’s face morphed into a sneer.  Emma could definitely see where the Evil Queen nickname came from.  “Oh, is that the story he’s going with?  Well, Sheriff,” the word spilled from her mouth like is tasted vile, “I’ll try and stay out of your way.” with that she marched back into the house leaving Emma standing alone and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, they're a little OOC. Just roll with me on this. Or not, it's cool, but I hope you stick around. This story is near and dear to me. I hope to update within the week.


	3. Enjoy the Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  Ok, so it was longer than a week.  My apologies, but I am back.  The muse is hard at work again because, well, tis the season.

**Friday October 10th**

 

Tucked away in a dark corner of the haunted house, Emma sat rubbing her eyes, not giving a damn about the greyish green zombie makeup she was undoubtedly rubbing off.  The house was relatively quiet, so she had way too much time to just sit and stew in her head.  Her thoughts kept floating back to a certain brunette that she should absolutely, positively hate. At least according to what she knew of girl world… she should at least dislike her.  And she should definitely not be craving her company.  

Now that the sting of betrayal (and right now she isn’t quite sure where exactly the sting originated) had dulled, Emma couldn’t stop thinking about the easy flow of conversation between them or the way the shadow on that lip scar deepened in the soft blue light.  At one point during the week, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was on TV and she found herself wondering if Regina was a fan.   _ I mean, she’s a Burton fan, and it’s a classic, but not everyone likes the stop animation…  gah _ ! She just wanted to be able to call her up and discuss the choice of using two different voice actors for Jack.

To make matters worse, she and Killian weren't exactly having the best week. Every time they talked, she found herself getting short with him.  She kept getting all snippy for no good reason and ended the calls prematurely.  She just wanted to talk - about music or movies or life - and his one word answers grated on her nerves.  

The one time she suggested they just go for a cup of coffee so they could sit face to face and maybe have a decent conversation there was already a party planned at some dude’s house.  Naturally, he wasn’t going to miss it and tried his hardest to talk her into going with him, but she didn't want to go sit alone on a stranger’s couch and watch him get drunk with his friends. Eventually he'd probably seek her out and try and find them an empty room, but that was one situation she was still actively avoiding. 

Ruby wasn’t much of a help either.  She not only wanted to go to the party, but seemed to only want to hang out with Emma when Graham could be there too.  And when they talked, it was all about Graham.  The boy craziness was starting to drive Emma a little batty.  She couldn't decide if it was because she just wanted some time with her best friend or because she just wasn’t THAT boy crazy.   It wasn’t for lack of trying, she just couldn’t get that excited to see Killian all of the time like Ruby clearly wanted to do with Graham.  

Being a girl was exhausting.

Somewhere in her head she knew she was over the Regina hitting on Killian thing and had let it go.  It was probably customary to hold on to shit like that, but she found herself not really caring.  So when the house rolled around on Friday night and she got and extra helping of passive aggressive bitchiness from Regina (well, it was directed in the general direction of Robin because she wouldn’t even look at Emma, but she knew she was the intended target) she was just tired and decided maybe it was better to just lay low.   So here she was, crouching in the dark trying to figure out what in the hell she was thinking or supposed to be thinking about any of it. 

She didn’t blame Regina for the ice queen treatment, not really.  Her reaction towards Regina last week  _ was _ a bit dramatic.  That initial spark between them was eclipsed by what was really a forced expected reaction and Emma wasn’t sure they could get back to those strangers in the dark discussing B movies.  And maybe flirting a little.  She didn’t know if she should want that.  It occurred to her that she never really put this much thought into possibly trying to be friends with someone.  Someone she only spent a few hours with.  Someone who was not only genuinely easy to talk to, but also easy to look at.

Fuck.

In the back of her mind a tumbler of emotions churned and a warning in the form of a conversation with Mary Margaret came around:

_ “Emma, did I tell you I ran into Ashley’s mom at the store?  She was showing me pictures from homecoming.  Ashley’s dress was so beautiful. Oh and her hair! She looked just like Cinderella going to the ball.” Mary Margaret’s eyes glazed over as wistful thoughts of yesterdays and what might have beens danced through her mind.  “It’s such a shame you couldn’t talk Killian into going to the dance.” _

_ Emma pulled at the back of her neck anxiously, “I didn’t push the issue.  I know it’s not his thing.” _

_ “I remember when David asked me to our first dance.  It was prom, actually.  I made him ask three times before I said yes.  But I knew from the minute I saw him we were destined to be together.” _

_ “That’s great, MM.” _

_ “He always made me feel like such a princess.” She leveled her gaze at Emma.  “Never settle, Emma.  You make sure you find a guy who makes you feel like that.” _

_ Emma’s stomach twisted. _

_ “If you want, maybe I’ll give the next dance a shot.  But, I don’t know, MM, I don’t really think fancy dances and puffy dresses are my thing either.” _

_ Mary Margaret snapped out of her trance at that. “Nonsense.  You are a beautiful young lady.  You could have easily been the _ _ fairest of them all _ _ at that dance.  You teenagers and your rebellious streaks.  Sometimes I think you just like the idea of not fitting in because you think that will somehow make you look cool.” _

_ A tight smile sat rigidly in place while Mary Margaret continued talking about Ashley’s dress, past high school dances and the conformity of non-conformity. _

A crackle from her headset brought her back to the grimy trailers.

“Take 15, gang,” Leroy grumbled through the headset.

“Break!!” A voice boomed through the house.

Emma made her way to the emergency exit, popped the lock and held the door open for everyone to file out for their break.  The death glare she got from Regina was a small step above the complete cold shoulder she got when they first got there.  It’s not like she expected anything different.  Or could want anything different.  She was the one who drew the line in the sand.  

She made her way out and awkwardly approached the rest of the group.  Killian half ass attempted to stand by her, but she easily shrugged him off and distanced herself from the others, instead going to lean against the black painted trailers.  Taking a long, slow drag off her cigarette, she kicked at the gravel and looked up to assess the group. Ruby was cozied up to Graham and Gwen seems to have turned her attention to a new boy Lance this week, which had Arthur grumbling on the other side of the group from them.  Meanwhile, Belle was sizing up Arthur and Killian appeared to hold court over them all.  If she wanted it, she could be right there along with him. Continuing their scan, her eyes locked with a pair of brown ones that were studying her, but quickly averted themselves when they were caught.  Regina didn’t look nearly as pissed when she didn’t think Emma was paying attention.

Robin caught the exchange, assessing Emma’s demeanor and broke away from the group, heading her way.  He leaned against the trailer next to her and took in the cool October evening in front of him.

“So.  How’re things with Killian?”

“Fine, I guess.  Why?”

He just shrugged, like he wasn’t really looking for an answer. “She wasn’t hitting on him, you know.  She’s not into him.”

She looks over at him carefully studying his face. “Look, Robin, I can appreciate-”

“To be honest, he hit on her.  He’s an idiot, but I think you know that.”

Emma couldn’t even argue.  She looked back at the ground gauging her reaction of feeling more relieved than outraged.  This couldn’t possibly be a normal reaction to finding out her boyfriend had been hitting on another girl.  Regina’s smile flashed through her mind and she realized that relief came from knowing that smile had only been directed at her, not him.

“There is nothing for you to worry about.  He really isn’t her type.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not entirely sure he is yours.”

“Robin, I- I don’t-” she stammered.

“Emma, I know about Lily.”

_ The previous October _

_ The ill-advised house party of a random cast member one night after the house closed was in full swing. _

_ Downstairs. _

_ Upstairs, on the floor in the bedroom of what was most likely a sibling of said cast member Emma gripped tightly to Lily’s shirt while they kissed.  What started as a hesitant flirtation quickly turned into hungry exploration.  Lily was out, pretty and gave Emma a lot of attention.  Emma soaked it up and gave into her curiosity.  Later, after they broke it up from almost getting busted and final goodbyes were said, Emma could blame it on the alcohol, even if they were both relatively sober.   _

_ Because there was absolutely no way… _

“How do you know about that?” It came out a panicked whisper.  She couldn’t even meet his eyes.

“I saw you slip out of the room not long after she did.  Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone else saw and I haven’t said a word.  Not that I think you did anything wrong, obviously.  Really, Emma, it’s ok if-” 

Emma turned away abruptly and said nothing as she ground out her cigarette and walked back into the house.

 

**Saturday Oct 11**

 

The fog over Emma’s brain from the night before is half gone, but things are more confusing than ever.  The conversation with Robin keeps replaying in her head.  The previous night she couldn’t seem to get past the fact that he knew.

He knew.  

He KNEW.  

The anxiety moved into the back of her throat and her jaw clenched.  It spread like molasses through her veins and took up space in her gut.  Enough to prevent her from processing the rest of the conversation.  

Until tonight.

Once Emma was a little less terrified of Robin outing her as anything other than straight as an arrow, his other words repeated themselves over and over until they didn’t make sense anymore.  Ultimately, it all boiled down to if the comparison of her and Regina a coincidence or not.

Was Regina something other than straight?

A shock wave coursed through her system.  

It didn’t matter anyway.

She grimaced.

Emma changed things up a little that night in the arrangement of the house.  Gwen begged Emma for the cage because she was sick of the tug of war between Arthur and Lance and just needed some peace away from both of them.  Emma acquiesced and split the three of them up. Regina ended up in the cave, a low lit hallway towards the front of the house decorated with spray-painted foam, fake bones and skulls and flickering torch-like lamps.  A low bench was built into the wall to either hide or, like most of them did, to rest on. It’s not like the cold, metal floor was much of an option if you wanted to sit for a minute.  It also happened to be right next to the pitch black maze Emma liked to hide in.  For the second night in a row any time she passed by Regina she was met with yet another an icy glare until eye contact was made and Regina would sharply turn away.  

After a particularly lackluster group moved through (really, if you are just going to shuffle through without so much as making a peep or cracking a smile, what’s the point?) Emma headed up front to start her rounds. Regina was concentrating on her black nails as Emma passed through the cave.

“Everything ok?” Emma tries to at least be professional towards her.

“Yep.” Quick, cold.

“Can I-” she tried

“Nope.” Distant.  Final.

Okaayyyyy, so much for that attempt.  But hey, Regina actually spoke to her, so they were making progress, right?

As she passed through the other scenes she got a couple stories of good scares and one person asked for a quick bathroom break.  There seemed to be a lull in traffic, so Emma waved him off and continued to the front.  She had to stop Killian from grabbing her as she bypassed his scene and went straight to the entrance. After a quick word with Leroy, she started heading back through.  Killian was right in her path when she turned around.  He grabbed her around the waist and spun  her into the wall.

“Not now, Killian.”

“Come on, love.  No one is coming.  We have a few minutes.”

“I have work to do.”

“Swan, everyone is fine.  They’re probably happy for a little break in the dark.” He arched an eyebrow suggestively.

“Which is why I need to walk around,” she huffed, clearly not into her current situation.

“Jesus, Emma.” He sighed, exasperated with her continued withdrawal.

“What?!  For fucks sake, Killian, I have a responsibility here.  I don’t want to play grab ass in the house like everyone else does.”

“I just wanted a minute with you.  I feel like you’re avoiding me.”

She puffed out a long breath.  He wasn’t wrong.  She was avoiding him and she was only mostly sure why.  

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“It’s fine.  Go ahead.” He sighed in defeat and his arms dropped to his side.  He turned his head away, essentially dismissing her.

Feeling a little guilty, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.  

“Did you hit on her?” She murmured into his chest.

“Ah, so that’s what this is about.” 

Not really.

“Yeah..”

“Ok, I misread signals.  I thought she was into me.  Yeah, I was kind of into her, but I swear I didn’t mean anything by it-”

She didn’t need excuses.  She didn’t even want to hear it. It didn’t really matter anyway.

“Just don’t, ok?  Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Let it happen again.”

He studied her for a moment, thinking it was maybe a trick.  “Ok, Swan.”

She turned away and went on autopilot going back through the house. Her pride was hurt more than anything, but she didn’t think she needed to break up with him.  Even if she barely justified being with him in the first place.

As she got closer to the cave, she heard Robin’s voice first.

“I talked to her last night, you know.”

Emma stilled, ears perking up.  She felt terrible about eavesdropping.  Really.  Or at least she should.  She knows that.  Very slowly, she crouched into the corner, not making a sound and hoping she can’t be seen in the inky blackness.

“What did you say to her?” Her voice was curious, cautious and carried none of the venom that Emma had felt directed at her these past two nights.

“Only that you weren’t interested in  _ him _ .” A ridiculous amount of emphasis was placed on the him.

“God, did you say it like that?”

“Not exactly.”

“Look, I wish you wouldn’t have.  I’m still a little pissed she flew off the handle at me like that.”

“Please, that was straight girl conditioning.  She had to react.”

“I know, but you said yourself we have no reason to believe she might be-”

“No, we don’t.”  _ Thank you, Robin _ .  “Regardless, you guys clicked.  You could just be good friends.  Why let some stupid guy come between that? This was all just a simple misunderstanding.”

“I just-” Emma could hear the exasperation in Regina’s voice.

Emma’s flashlight dropped from her hands with thud on the floor.  Cursing herself, she silently prayed they wouldn’t see her.

“Shit.  People are coming.  I’m out,” Robin quickly assessed.

They exchanged an air kiss before Robin headed in the opposite direction of Emma.

Regina turned around and put her cranberry red Doc up on the ledge.  Her hands ran down the back of her fishnets, smoothing out the invisible creases and straightening the seam.  Her short black skirt hiked up to just barely decent and Emma was completely transfixed.  Her mouth went dry as she watched black polish tipped fingers run down stocking clad legs.  Dark locks fell over her shoulder as she bent over.  She stared a moment too long before realizing what a creeper she was being and cleared her throat to warn Regina she’s there before entering the scene.  

“Hi.” Emma said nervously, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hey.” Regina faced her, crossing her arms defensively.  She worries her lip, not knowing what all Emma has heard.  They stand there for a moment waiting for arguing or shouting or yet another dismissive cold shoulder...

“What do you want, Emma?” It’s not so much harsh as tired.  Regina sounded sick of this shit, too.

“To apologize.  I thought… he made me think…” Jesus fucking Christ, she can’t seem to form words. “I…  Look, there’s no excuse for treating you the way I did, regardless of what happened.  And I know you did nothing wrong.  He is an ass.  I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well…  it sounds like you and Captain Guyliner need to work this out between the two of you.”

“Yeah, we do. Or did.  I don’t know, I guess it’s complicated, but I’d like you and me to start over.  To try and be friends.  I really liked talking to you last week.”

“I enjoyed talking to you, too.  And I seem to find that rare these days.  So, yeah, it’s fine.  Just maybe keep your boyfriend away from me?”

“Yeah.  Um, yeah, I think I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

They stood for a moment, awkwardly assessing the new situation between them.

Suddenly, Emma’s eyes lit up. “You know I was watching Nightmare the other day and thought about you.  I know you’re a Burton fan, but we didn’t discuss that one.”

“Oh, did you catch that on Disney, too?  I watched it.  I love that movie.”

They smiled at each other. 

“So.”

“So.”

“Do you think… I can I call you maybe sometime this week?  Ya know, if Child’s Play or something is on...” Talking to Regina was so easy up to that point, Emma had no clue why that was the hardest thing she’s ever said out loud.  If Regina didn’t want to, it was cool, it’s not like she was rejecting her.

_ Oh God _ .

She felt the tightness through her chest in anticipation as she braced herself for Regina to lash out, full on Evil Queen and laugh in her face for trying so hard.

“Couldn’t it be Planet 9 from Outer Space instead?”

Emma chuckled. And visibly relaxed.

Regina watched her, nervous in her own right “Yeah.  Yeah, I won’t hang up if you call.”

The static crackled in Emma’s ear and Leroy gave the all clear.  It was time to go.  Voices and shouts rang through the house of kids scrambling to get the hell out of there and head home, or out, for the night.  Regina turned away from Emma and started walking to the exit.

“Wait, I don’t have your number.” Emma called after her.

“You’ll figure it out,” she called over her shoulder.

Emma’s head fell back against the wall and she chuckled low to herself.  Nothing about this was going to be easy.


End file.
